Since the dawn of online poker, many players are raising questions about the integrity of the games. From the mandatory questions like ” how can I lose 5 flips in a row ? ” , through” is this player seeing my cards with some software ? “and the mandatory “is online poker rigged ? ” in the end.
Many amateurs can swear their unfortunes, are due to unfair play.
While we do not tolerate bad beat stories and complaining just for the sake of it, today we are going to talk about real threats to the game integrity. Below we will review all possible ways, that you can be scammed, while playing online. Let’s finally answer this notorious question – is online poker rigged?
Is Online Poker Rigged for Action ?
Finding out if poker rooms are rigged for action, is no simple task. There is no undeniable proof, which to solve this mystery , with hundred percent certainty. Still, let us think logically and reach to a satisfying answer.
Most online poker sites and apps are huge platforms, where hundreds of thousands players, log in everyday to gamble. The income they generate for the owners of those are beyond imagination. Whether pots are big or small, the difference in their income do not change drastically. The volume of poker, which takes places each day, is so large, that it is hard to imagine, poker sites need to rig their software.
The amount of work they need to put in smart AI software, which takes into account, all players hole cards, how they interact with each other and each individual playing style. If such software exist, it sounds more like it came out of some Sci-fi movie.
Let’s continue to the most serious evidence against the possibilities of online poker rigged tables. Every reputable poker room pays large amounts for certifications and tests of their software. Maybe you noticed “RNG” Certified ” icon, in your favorite poker room website. This means software uses fully certified random numbers generator. RNG is software used to ensure that the shuffle is indeed random and favors no player over any other.
No wonder that random number generators (RNG) are considered as one of the most important components for online poker. The software used for shuffles cannot control who wins or loses. Instead, it just deals out cards and the rest is up to the players. It’s impossible for the algorithm to produce a predetermined winning hand. Online poker rooms tend to certify their RNGs via 3rd party auditing companies such as Gaming Laboratories International, which helps to show the players that games are run in a fair and honest manner.
This also answers, for the most parts, a similar question – Are Online Poker Rooms Rigged to support weaker players ? Many players complain, that they are always suffering defeat against lesser players, due to suspicious series of unfortunate bad beats. The notorious claim is that online poker sites support fish players and those who deposit often.
The truth is no single proof of this claim. Not to mention, proving this includes showing sample of at least million hands, which shows mathematical inaccuracies. Losing ten times to same player, while holding superior hand, proofs nothing. These measurements are done in huge samples and to date, there are no clear evidences of software, picking and choosing , which player to win.
SuperUser Accounts In Poker
Superuser accounts are poker accounts that have access to all hole cards at the table they’re playing. Such accounts would be able to know exactly when to fold, bet or raise, giving them a vastly enhanced chance of winning the hand. Normally when you play poker, you’re only shown your hole cards and the other players’ cards cannot be accessed. A superuser account on the other hand must have access to the gambling operator’s poker server, which means they need to be an insider to do this.
One of the biggest online poker scams is the one involving Absolute Poker & Ultimate Bet in 2007, when a group of players discovered superusers that were playing like they could see the other player’s cards, winning pot after pot. Investigation was conducted and it indeed turned out that these superuser accounts had access to all hole cards, allowing them to make unbelievably profitable moves at the tables.
Collusion – Team Play
Collusion can occur in any poker game with three or more players. It immediately is welcomed with “is online poker rigged rant, It is a form of cheating where two or more players are acting with a secret, common strategy to gain an advantage against the rest of the players. Collusion is strictly against the rules in poker, and sometimes it can be hard to spot if players are colluding at a table.
In most collusion cases, players are sharing their hole cards and trying to push other players out of the pot or lure them in when one of the colluders has a strong hand. In poker tournaments, collusion can also mean chip dumping i.e. losing chips to a certain player on purpose.
Modern online poker sites and especially poker apps, are well aware of these practices. They have dedicated security teams, which focus solely on spotting collides. This is why in all reputable online poker clubs and big poker platforms, colluding is brought to 0.
Collusion is one of the quickest way to lose your bankroll. Be careful of this cheap tactic and always leave the table if you spot suspicious activity. Online poker rigged tables may be a myth, but people attempting to cheat is not.
Many players try to battle cheaters head on, aiming for revenge, but lose their money in the process. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
In live poker, the situation with collusion is even worse, especially in private games, but it is topic for another day. The question of “is online poker rigged” , can easily be put aside once we talk about the many live experiences we have witnessed.
How to protect yourself from collusion ?
To protect yourself at the table, pay close attention to betting patterns of other players. If there are multiple cases where players clearly either squeeze you in or out of a pot with questionable holdings, you should leave the cash game table and write about your concerns to the poker site support. However, most of the time when you spot something one-off, it probably isn’t cheating or something you can do anything about – some players just play poorly and it might look like they’re colluding
Soft play collusion
Soft play is a form of collusion where one player fails to make a bet or raise in a situation that would normally merit it. It could also mean taking a less aggressive line against a certain player or avoiding winning money from them.
Ghosting
In a fair poker game, all players at the table are playing on their own. Ghosting means a player giving advice to another player while they’re seated at a cash game or a tournament table. In online poker, software such as Teamviewer and Skype can be used for ghosting. The player can then talk with their ghost if they face a difficult situation before making a decision.
Ghosting is a big problem in late stages of tournaments when the prize pools are high. Ghosting is believed to be the most common way of cheating that occurs in online poker.
Recently there was huge scandal with Daniel Cates – Jungleman , who was involved in ghosting incident. He played against many high stakes players incognito. Dan Bilzerian outed Jungleman on Twitter and while Daniel admitted being guilty, he denied having played against Bilzerian.
Multi-accounting
Multi-accounting means that a player has opened two or more real money accounts at a poker site, giving them a chance to pose as different players in a game to increase their chances of winning. Is online poker rigged because there are multi accounters ? No ! But…
…multi-accounting is a problem for both the honest players and the poker site, since the cheater can also receive multiple poker bonuses by creating several accounts. If a player gets caught for creating multiple accounts, all his accounts and balances will be frozen. In our experience, in reputable poker apps and sites, multi accounting is always caught.
Poker bots
Bots are a problem in modern online poker since they have evolved in strategy and can be hard to detect. Poker bots are computer programs that play poker online, and they are strictly forbidden at every poker site. Poker bots can simulate human actions but they make very few mistakes, since they don’t ever become tired or unfocused like humans might.
You can detect a poker bot if you notice a certain player playing for a very long duration without taking a single break, or if they play a high number of tables without making any mistakes at all. These two things combined makes it a high chance for a player to be a bot.
The best bot detecting security teams can be found on Poker Apps such as PPPoker and Pokerbros. The reason for this, is that they were target since day 1 of their existence and have much more experience in detecting AI users. Also player pool is smaller than PokerStars, for example, which gives security team easier time reviewing every user. Speaking of security teams, those on apps are just as big, as those on big poker sites. Moreover, recently PPPoker acquired the services of one of the top security chiefs in PokerStars.
Is online poker rigged because of the existence of poker bots ? No, because it is not something which is forced upon us by the online poker operator. In fact, all poker rooms battle against these AI players, with bigger and bigger security teams.
So is Online Poker Rigged ?
Playing poker online should not be just logging in the first possible place and hoping for the best. In the modern world, everyone is there to take your money or take advantage of you. Be careful of these unfair practices when gambling. If you want to save your time reading a ton of information, trust our professional team and contact us to play poker in a secure way.
To avoid asking yourself repeatedly “is online poker rigged ? ” , best to try some of the best places to play poker and also focus on improving as player, not as a complainer 🙂